


Eye of the Storm

by duster



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Body Horror, Gaster Blaster Sans, Gasterblaster AU, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor panic attack, some bullshit backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 10:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12130344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duster/pseuds/duster
Summary: During a storm, Grillby stumbles upon Sans in a predicament he couldn't have imagined.





	Eye of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> i remembered i wrote this a while ago for kicks and figured that even if im not super proud of it that it should be put somewhere that others may enjoy anyways. and i do love me some gbau (plus sansby) and it makes me sad that some of the content creators for the au have stopped writing..

The cold and harsh storm raged in Snowdin. It was late in what constituted as night and no one lingered outside in the fierce snow and wind that battered at their homes. While they were stuck in a large mountain, strong weather such as this was not uncommon. It seldom stormed, but harsh winds and heavy snow was often expected. Monsters had gotten used to the signs of the changing weather and were normally quite prepared to hole up inside until it passed. Those that weren’t often stayed in the Snowed Inn. And if there was no room, Grillby’s was used as a safe house.

That was what was occurring this night. Grillby had his bar open far later than usually and offered warm food and drinks to those caught in the storm with nowhere to go. They crowded together, offering body warmth and community to avoid focusing on the howling gusts outside.

The warm bartender carefully opened the bar door, a strong gust of wind chased him inside and he struggled to close the door. Greater Dog joined him, making quick work of the door and also taking the blankets from him. Grillby smiled as the dog handed the blankets out to the colder monsters.

Grillby made his way over to the bar, noticing that the trash definitely needed to go. What with all these people eating and drinking there had been plenty of garbage. He sighed and tied up the bag with deft fingers before squaring his shoulders and preparing to exit the bar once more.

Storms were more bothersome to Grillby than something to be afraid of. The wind had no chance snuffing his flame out, he was not some little spark that could be frightened by a gentle breeze, but sometimes the air intensified his flames, making them harder to control. Other times they were dimmed low and burned subtly but it was not something the fire elemental would shy away from.

He exited the back part of his bar through the kitchen and was immediately greeted by a nice blow of air to the face. His flames roared slightly, but he leaned against the side of his building and used it to make the trip to the dumpster far easier.

With one hand he opened the dumpster, and with the other he threw the bag in with the other trash. Hopefully it would be taken to the Core to be burned and used as fuel tomorrow, but who knew when this storm would really end.

He turned and headed back to the bar, ready to give his flames a rest, but as he walked he heard something. The bartender stopped, wondering if it was another stray monster lost in the storm. He stood as still as he dared and strained to hear over the wind.

His patience rewarded him. It sounded like…a whine? A growl? Something of that sort. Could it be Lesser Dog? Grillby peered into the forest behind the bar. It certainly was coming from in there. With some sort of bravery he didn’t even know he possessed, he walked forward, stepping into the edge of the trees.

“…Hello?” He strained to make his normally soft voice louder. “Is there anyone here?”

The sound of something breaking alerted him. There was no wind amidst the trees to stop him as he ran forward, hoping that there was no one in danger and that it was just his imagination. He looked around and found something he had never anticipated.

“…Sans?”

The small skeleton was awkwardly leaning against a tree, his hood was up and covering his face but the sight of white bone and blue hoodie was unmistakable. Grillby hurried forward to get a better look at him. Sans’ face was shrouded by the hood, but the gleam of his white eyelights peered through and his smile remained firm.

“H-Hey Grillby.”

“What in the Angel’s name are you doing out here?” The bartender crackled aggressively. “There’s a storm out here. You should be inside with your brother!”

Sans’ grin wavered and his arms clutched at his sides. “Heh, gettin’ all w-worked up over m-me? I’m blown away.”

“ _Sans_ ,” Grillby pressed, then he kneeled down to the skeleton’s level. Closer up he could tell something wasn’t right. Sans wasn’t looking him in the eye. In fact, he had his eyes completely shut tight. And he was _shaking_. “……Are you alright?”

Sans opened his eye sockets and flashed a determined smile. “Yeah G, don’t worry about me, I’ll be inside in a s-sec. Just g-gotta get my bearings.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” Grillby insisted.

A hiss of pain escaped Sans and Grillby started. He reached forward to place a hand on his shoulder when Sans slapped his hand away with animalistic ferocity.

“ ** _No, don’t_**!” the skeleton almost snarled, his left eye suddenly glowing between blue and yellow. Grillby pulled back, suddenly noticing how…strange Sans’ features had gotten.

“Tell me what’s going on,” the flame said. “I’m not leaving you out here.”

Sans was now leaning in on himself. He was groaning in pain but his voice had an edge to it. Grillby reached forward, completing what he had originally planned and placing a comforting hand on Sans’ shoulder. He chose to not say anything and instead just support him.

“P-please,” Sans whined, his voice hitching and wavering. “Just _go_.”

“No, Sans. I’m here for you.”

But Sans didn’t have the time to respond. His body lurched forward, enough for Grillby to remove his hand and stare in shock. The skeleton scrambled onto all fours and dug his hands into the snow and soil in the earth. That was when Grillby heard bones snap.

He could do nothing but watch in horror as Sans’ spine snapped in one motion, a scream ripping itself from the small monster’s throat. His phalanges were lengthening, growing, and becoming something like _claws_. Grillby couldn’t comprehend the rapid changes that were enveloping his friend.

With his new claws, Sans began scratching at his own skull desperately. His hood was pulled back finally, revealing a sharp and uneven skull that seemed so _wrong_ on Sans. His left eye was glowing and rapidly flashing from blue to yellow and back again. His jaw was now gaping, showing off extremely sharp teeth and a more pointed maw. He breathed deeply for a moment before he dug his claws in deeper into his skull. More snaps and cracks were heard before a tail sprouted from the base of Sans’ spine.

He was gasping, heaving in breaths in a body that was so foreign. Grillby felt cold. As the skeleton continue to heave, the fire bartender finally moved his body and approached Sans carefully. The skeleton raised his head slowly, turning to Grillby with exhausted eyes and a grim smile.

“S’not over yet,” he bit out with a single ‘heh’. “Jus’a breather.”

Grillby tentatively moved a hand towards Sans’ head. When the skeleton didn’t flinch, he continued on, running a hand gently along the strange bumps and ridges on the skull. His hand then trailed down Sans’ spine, feeling the obvious but new spikes that had grown out from it.

“What’s happening to you?” Grillby said softly, fear tainting his voice with little concealment.

Sans closed his tired eye sockets. “Somethin’ I should’ve told you ages ago.”

Grillby pulled his hand away from Sans’ back and moved it to the skeleton’s face. He raised his skull up with both hands, forcing him to look the flaming man in the eyes, or at least, in that general direction. Sans couldn’t hold the fierce gaze that bore into him, instead letting his eyelights linger on a point behind Grillby.

“Sans, explain yourself,” Grillby’s voice hissed out. “This is not the time to be cryptic.”

He could hear Sans grate his sharpened teeth against each other. Grillby winced.

“Now isn’t the time, Grillbz,” Sans said, finally looking at the fire monster. Then the skeleton curled inwards, the changes seemingly back in motion. He shook his head rapidly. “ ** _Please_**.”

The flame released his hold on Sans’ skull and shuffled back, giving the skeleton some space. The new tail was whipping around, slashing at nearby objects, and creating a danger zone for Grillby. Sans was clutching at his ribcage and groaning in agony. There was nothing Grillby could do.

He hugged himself and watched as all of Sans’ new features seemed to grow. His claws were becoming larger; his legs and arms changing form and stretching; his skull increasing in size and weight. All the while ripping his clothes to shreds and tatters. There wasn’t much that Sans could do except lay on the ground and wait as it morphed his body into something so new and monstrous.

It was when Sans was on all four more dog shaped legs, with a skull shaped far more terrifying and beastly that emotion grabbed hold of the transforming skeleton. There were tears streaking his large skull. His groans and shrieks had become whimpers and exhausted flinches. Grillby felt his soul clench in his chest.

“ ** _Grr_** ,” Sans spoke, his voice deep and disjointed, trying to get his mouth to form words. “ ** _Grrree_**.”

Grillby just shook his head, still on his knees further away with his hands clutching his pants. The sight of his long-time friend in this state horrified him. It was so foreign to see such an unnatural and almost forced transition from something monster to anomaly. The skeleton barely resembled his natural body anymore.

“Sans, I don’t-“

“ ** _Grrr-lllleee_**.”

Grillby woodenly got to his feet and started approaching Sans. In the form he was now, Sans was around the height of Greater Dog. It was strange to look up to Sans and see his eyes staring down at him. The closer Grillby got to Sans the more he could hear the crunches and creaks of the bones shifting and stretching. The skeleton was still flinching and clawing at the ground but he was still as he could be and barely moved his eyes away from the bartender’s form.

Two flaming hands reached forward and touched Sans’ skull. For a second, a low croon echoed throughout Sans’ body but it eventually formed into a groan as his neck and spine popped and grew once more.

“What do you need?” Grillby said softly.

“ ** _Ssstaay_** ,” the word reverberated through Sans and Grillby felt it through his hands.

He gave a nod and then lowered himself to the ground, guiding Sans’ head with him. He was easily engulfed by Sans’ head on his lap, but he continued to stroke and hold the larger monster’s skull. Sans was quiet minus some tears that streaked his face and a few whimpers as the final changes washed over him. His neck was longer and his spine stretched out, creating a very long and whip-like tail that curled close to his body. His claws were sunk into the ground beneath them both as the pair lay there, still and silent.

The wind that slid through the forest brushed over them. Grillby could still hear the wind buffet his own bar further away, and he did feel the cold begin to seep into his own flames but he put that in the back of his mind. Sans was breathing deeply now, whatever had happened was now finished and he was asleep. Hopefully the skeleton would explain himself if – no – _when_ he changed back. But for now he needed to be there and offer what little comfort he could provide to the poor exhausted skeleton creature in his lap.

\---

It was hard

To think.

Hard to

Move?

Heavy.

Everything felt strange.

Out of place.

Unnatural.

It was hard to think.

**_Focus_**.

All he knew was that something wasn’t right…

No.

Something wasn’t right with _him_.

He was what was wrong.

Everything felt _wrong_.

**_No. Focus._ **

He needed to

Do something?

Needed to

Move?

His eyes opened and he saw.

Snow and trees. That was normal. Natural. He recognized this place.

But something was warm. Very warm. Strange, in a snowy place.

He lifted his head (so heavy, so _wrong_ ) and stood on his legs (four of them?)

The warmth faded as he moved. When he looked back to where he was sitting he saw a flame.

A monster.

Run! Fight!

He sprung to life but couldn’t immediately decide on his action. Instead, he stood tense and tall over the strange monster that offered warmth.

He growled at it.

It raised its hands and moved its body. Standing up.

He backed up, fear settling in and making its home. His eyes lit up with blue and the overwhelming magic began spilling out of his jaws.

**_No. Friend!_ **

Something was familiar about the way the monster held itself. The way its flames flickered and flared.

But the fear was overwhelming. It took a step forward.

He needed to leave. He needed to run! Go somewhere safe.

But the flame was mesmerizing.

It spoke. “Sans, it’s just me, Grillby.”

He didn’t understand. What was Sans or Grillby. He was missing something.

“I am not going to hurt you,” the monster spoke. “Please don’t run.”

It was so _hard_ to _think_. His instincts screamed to either fight or run but he didn’t know if this monster was a threat or not. Or if he knew it? He didn’t know. He didn’t know and it confused him.

He involuntarily let out a whimper as he took another step back.

On top of everything already, his whole body was so exhausted. He felt tired. He just wanted to sleep more. But where was safe? He couldn’t remember. He knew this area but not this monster.

The monster had stopped moving. Now was his chance.

He lunged forward. His claws barely missed the monster as it rolled out of the way. But he did not stop. He kept running. Trying to weave his body through the trees. But he kept stumbling on his feet, like they didn’t fit him.

One stumble led him into the embrace of a tree and then bouncing into another. He hit his ribs hard on the trunk and slumped to the ground. It all hurt. But he also didn’t feel like getting up. He was comfortable enough here. Just to rest.

But there was a voice calling. The monster was following him. He got to his feet slowly, doing his best to put one foot in front of the other. He steadied his body and then began walking. He started a very slow pace, trying to figure out his own footing in the snow and ground and also avoiding the trees. Surprisingly, his body seemed to fill in the gaps. He didn’t know how to fit his body through the trees, but he did so anyways. He let his body go on autopilot.

And now, he was at a fairly decent pace. One that would far outmatch the monster following him. It all felt a fair bit more comfortable to be running and moving like this. It was still heavy and exhausting but not nearly as hard.

But thinking. That was hard.

He slowed his pace down to a trot and let his body release some tension. Around him the trees were silent. There was no sign of any new creature to react to. It was just him in this empty forest.

A part of him felt…lonely. He missed companionship? But he couldn’t even remember ever having a companion. He couldn’t remember…anything.

His head was hurting again. Fighting to remember something more than just being slammed into existence mere moments ago. He had memory of feelings, of comfort and friends and home. He missed things he had never had.

His body slumped to the ground with a _whump_. His claws lifted and covered his eyes. A whine escaped him. His exhaustion finally caught up to him and he breathed a sigh. Sleeping was far easier than thinking. So he closed his eyes and slept.

\---

Grillby figured that this was the fastest he’d run in his life. With Sans’ unstable and confused dash off into the forest, it made following the monster easy. Grillby’s fear escalated as he moved. The skeleton turned beast seemed to have taken some wrong turns from the evidence of damaged trees and ripped branches.

He didn’t have a plan. He hated how much of a confused and concerned mess he was that he couldn’t think of what to do. He was always calm and collected, pacing himself with plans and step-by-step goals. But the only thing on his mind at this point was he had to catch up to Sans. Grillby had no idea what he’d do after that, but he couldn’t focus on past that point.

So, he decided he was going to wing it. (Something he desperately tried to avoid, in normal circumstances. Though, this was not a normal circumstance.) Sans would be proud. Fuck, he needed to stop thinking (about how Sans had just been there, _normal_ , _fine_ , and then suddenly he’s screaming and Grillby doesn’t know what to _do_ ).

Grillby focused on his steps. One in front of the other. How, around his shoes, he realized the snow was melting. His flames were uncontrolled (when was the last time he felt _this_ _scared_?) He stared at the tracks and how large and strange the footprints were. Focusing. That was something he could do.

It honestly wasn’t that long until he came across the large bone beast. True to form, Sans had fallen asleep, nestled against some trees and blanketed by a light dusting of snow. He looked scared, even in his sleep.

Okay. He found him. All curled up and passed out. Now what was he going to do? He desperately hoped that the shock of the transformation was what caused his sudden fear and that he would come to his senses once he awoke. But he didn’t let himself hope.

Grillby stood still, just looking at Sans’ sleeping form. He released a puff of smoke in a sigh and turned to a nearby tree, positioning himself under it and also melting the snow so that he wouldn’t get wet. He figured waking Sans would be a bad idea, so he would just have to wait it out. Hopefully the storm would die down by then.

His body was just falling into sleep when he heard a sharp noise. A mix between a growl and a whimper. Grillby jolted from his almost-slumber to see the skeletal creature writhing in the snow. Taking a closer look, the elemental could clearly see his eye sockets were shut. He was having a nightmare.

Nightmares weren’t uncommon for the skeleton, and Grillby had some part in knowing that. There were some times were Sans would fall asleep at the bar, passed out from exhaustion or drinking too much. Either way, he often awoke with nightmares. Though, the skeleton would pass them off as nothing worth worrying about. Which caused Grillby to worry.

But comforting a small skeleton is one thing. A very large, very toothy skeleton beast?

There was a keening whine emitted from Sans and Grillby decided then that he would _not_ be afraid of Sans. In whatever shape he was in.

With sure, but careful steps, Grillby approached Sans. The skeleton was rolling around a bit, but not with enough ferocity or force that concerned him. It wouldn’t be hard to just walk up to him and…what? Pet him? Shake him awake? Maybe this was a bad idea.

_Damnit Grillby just_ do _something_ , he thought to himself.

With no time to think, Grillby stepped beside Sans’ much larger and more angular head and placed a hand on it.

The beast stilled instantly. The flame released a breath. Maybe he just needed to know someone was there. Maybe he could sleep more comfortably now. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Right below him, Sans’ socketed eyes opened and flickered to life. Grillby stumbled back in fright, falling over his own feet and landing in the snow. He started to fumble to his feet when he realized that Sans had gotten to his feet as well, and had backed up, a few paces away from him with his blue eyes wide. Grillby recognized fear. He was ready to either attack or flee again. But the bartender could _not_ let that happen once more.

Slowly, he got to his feet with his hands raised and held up in a sign of surrender and vulnerability. He could see Sans pupil’s tracking his every movement, though his body remained frozen. Every thing he did now would decide the outcome of this.

“Sans,” he called softly, but not quietly. The creature didn’t move. “Stay…… _please_.”

He wasn’t sure if he understood, but Sans seem to listen anyways. His tail which had been whipping back and forth nervously had stilled behind him and some tension in his shoulders seemed to be released.

“Sans, I know you are scared. I am too,” he kept talking, as he began stepping forward, watching the skeletal creature closely for signs of fear, “but listen to me. I can _help_. You just need to stop running and we can figure something out, okay?”

Grillby was halfway from the distance between where he was and where Sans stood. He was still walking slowly but Sans had not moved. He was just watching, almost like he was observing. There was something calculating in his gaze. It gave Grillby a sense of relief that he was displaying something other than fear or aggression.

“I don’t know if you can hear me…..or if you can even understand me, but I just want to let you know…..that I am here for you.” A few more steps and he would be there. “I care about you,” he said with a sad smile. “……Whatever you look like.”

His hands jumped the distance between them and he placed both on his large skull, on either side, in an attempt to hold him. Grillby watched intently, unsure if he should be ready to move or continue talking. But Sans looked at Grillby for a moment…and then his eyes changed. The flame watched in fascination as the bright blue and blazing pupils dimmed. They became smaller and smaller, and then they dulled. That was when he realized he was looking at two white pupils, pinpricks of light in two large dark eye sockets.

A grin split across Grillby’s face. The pupils looked down at him and he saw _recognition_. Sans seemed to hesitate, looking ready to flee, unfortunately he didn’t get the chance to make that decision.

The agonizingly familiar sound of bones snapping began. Grillby’s smile vanished as he watched Sans step back and collapse in on himself, once more. It wasn’t any better, seeing him transform back. The part of him that was so relieved was clouded by the unanswered questions. _Was this normal? Did this always happen? Had he just been so ignorant to Sans’ painful secret? Why did he never speak up?_

The exhausted whimpers drew him in once more, and Grillby found himself kneeling in the snow (again) stroking Sans’ skull as he transitioned from beast back into skeleton. He did his best not to flinch every time there was a particularly loud crack and instead kept his eyes focused on Sans’ eye sockets. The process of shortening his muzzle and shrinking teeth was incredible, yet terrible, to watch. And yet, Sans still pushed through.

With one final breath, Sans’ arms collapsed on him and he lay in the snow. A skeleton again. Grillby could almost consider the last few hours to be just a strange yet vivid dream he had. The small monster looked as though he had just fallen asleep in the snow, odd, but not uncommon. Though, lacked any form of clothing and he looked far more exhausted than he did on any normal day. But maybe Grillby had never noticed up until now. Maybe he always looked this way.

Grillby shook his head and broke his train of thought. There wasn’t time to regret. He gently scooped up the skeleton in his arms and began walking.

\---

Sans stretched beneath the sheets of his bed. He was warm and so comfortable. It would be a crying shame if he were to get up _now_. But his mind was already awakening, processing the feeling of the blankets, the ache in his bones, the cool air against his fingers that lay splayed out from the covers. He did not want to get up just yet.

He curled deeper into his blankets and breathed in a heavy sigh. Then his eyes shot open. These blankets weren’t his. They were clean and fresh and soft! Not the thin, old blanket he had grown to despise. Once his eyes were opened his surroundings confirmed this information. This wasn’t his room. He wasn’t in his house. Where was he?

With a deep breath, Sans stilled himself from panicking. He swung his legs over the bed to begin his exit. The clothes he now wore weren’t familiar. The shirt was far too large and the shorts were cinched as tight as they could go. Well, wherever he was, at least they seemed to be caring monsters.

That in mind, the skeleton gripped the doorknob of the bedroom, taking in just how exhausted and hurt he felt all over his body. The bed called to him, but knowing whose house he was in would put his mind at ease before he went back to sleep. His hand gripped the doorknob tight and then inched the door open slowly. But the moment it was open at all, he caught a glimpse of his caretaker.

From across from where he was sleeping, sat Grillby. He sat with his legs crossed as he read a book on a plush looking armchair. The room appeared to be a kitchen and living area, with a few doors beside the one Sans was currently in for other purposes. The entire room gave off an aura of warmth and comfort. But Sans wasn’t currently feeling that comfort.

The sight of Grillby had recovered his memory of the past events. He immediately gripped the doorknob even tighter and felt his bones begin to shake. He couldn’t completely remember what had happened after…but he knew the implications. Grillby had clearly helped him, but now came the part where he’d Want To Know. Sans had no intentions of explaining, but he also didn’t think he’d be able to get out of Grillby’s house without fessing up.

Before Sans could react further, the flame elemental looked up from his book and set his eyes upon Sans. He gave a somewhat relieved smile as he set down his book.

“Hello, Sans.”

Sans started to speak, but his voice seemed to close up on itself. Or maybe it was still the side effects of changing back. Oh god, Grillby had seen him transform. He’d seen _everything_. If his hands could grip any tighter with the little strength he possessed, the doorknob would have shattered.

“It’s good to see you awake,” Grillby continued gently. He had still not gotten up from his seat. But for Sans that seemed to be even more intimidating. The bartender noticed his anxiety and he stood up and took a step towards Sans.

The skeleton flinched. Then immediately swore. Unfortunately, it came out hoarse and garbled. He cleared his throat and ran a hand over his skull.

“Uhh h-hey Grillbz,” he said finally, trying to feign nonchalance even though he knew how screwed he was.

Grillby cocked his head to the side. “Will you come and sit down?”

He nodded stiffly in response before forcing his legs to cooperate. Sans slumped into the nearest couch and did his best to ignore the intense feeling of wanting to curl into a ball and hide behind the pillows. Instead, he sat straight and poised, waiting for Grillby to sit once more. But his fingers betrayed his anxiety as they drummed against the arm of the couch.

Silence fell between the two monsters. Sans’ pupils kept darting to Grillby and then back to his hands. Grillby seemed as if he was trying to work up the courage to begin to address the elephant in the room. Man, it’s a good thing they both are so good at being confrontational.

“…H-how…” Grillby started, then cleared his throat and tried again with more conviction. “How are you feeling?”

Sans stopped drumming and wrung his hands together. He _really_ did not want to discuss this right now, even better yet, _ever_. It was something he often tried to forget about himself. It wasn’t something he could share openly; wasn’t something he was comfortable with; _certainly_ wasn’t something he was proud of.

He tried to grasp at words but they flew through his fingers. “I-um, I’m pretty sore and, uh, tired. But,” he flashed Grillby a grin, dredging up some of that good old Sans nonchalance, “that’s pretty normal. Heh, nothing to worry about. I’ve got pretty tough bones.”

“Please don’t…….sugar-coat this for me, Sans,” Grillby said softly.

Sans visibly flinched. He immediately looked at the ground, his hands shook a bit. His confidence was failing.

“I know what I saw. But I’m not as concerned with that as much as I am about your well-being,” Grillby continued, equally as concerned and gentle as before. “I can’t imagine……how hard this must be for you…”

He breathed. Well, tried to breathe. Grillby wasn’t upset, this wasn’t the worst situation he’d been in, and Grillby _cared_. And yet he was still so…what? Anxious? Desperate? Terrified?

In a few steps Grillby was by his side, a hand on his shoulder and one on his knee. He focused on the warmth in his fingers as they spread through his bones. He recognized that feeling…from before.

“…Sans, just breathe…please don’t be scared…just listen to me ok? I’m here for you…I won’t leave…”

It took a few minutes for the terror to fall to a lull. It was still there, buzzing in the back of his skull, but he could push it away and focus on the now. Now he wasn’t going to be thrown out or rejected. It was okay.

“U-uh, thanks…” Sans said.

The elemental just nodded, his hand left his bones and Sans almost whined until he realized he was just adjusting them to his back. With the physical and emotional support offered, Sans gathered the pieces of his story in his head and explained.

“I haven’t ever told anyone this,” he started, still looking down. “Nobody knows. Not even Papyrus. But heh, he probably suspects something. He’s too smart for his own good.” Sans stopped, a faint smile appearing but then quickly fading. “Do you…remember the first time you met us? Me and Pap?”

Grillby stilled. “I remember two young skeletons, looking fairly ragged, sleeping right outside my bar in the early morning hours.”

Sans grinned. “Heh, yeah we were pretty snuffed out.”

Grillby huffed and then gave Sans a pointed glare.

“Alright, alright, okay. Well, we used to live in New Home y’know. I worked for a pretty well known scientist while Pap went to school. I’m not gonna go into detail but, well, the guy I was working for was trying to find a way through the barrier. It started out innocent enough…just theories of soul structure and creating something that could break through the barrier’s preconceived notion that only humans could exit the barrier.” Sans rubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh. His leg started to bounce and his fingers were fidgeting again. “We began with the idea that magic maybe was its way of filtering out who could get through. So maybe if we created a soul that it didn’t yet know about…” Sans trailed off, lost in thought. Grillby’s hand rubbed circles on the skeleton’s back and he jumped back into the present. “Right, uh, well let’s just say I was the lucky test subject.”

Grillby frowned. “Why…..you?”

“A lot of reasons,” he began, started to gesture with his hands in order to stop playing with them. “We couldn’t just create a soul with both. It destroyed the soul and had literally no body to keep it together. We also couldn’t very well hire monsters. We had few enough in New Home as is. Plus, who’d want to be involved in a risky hypothesized project? I figured it’d be easiest if we just had one of us as a subject and then we could record the results. Let me make it clear that no one really knew about this project. It was a side to…other things that had begun happening at the same time.

“Anyway, it seemed like I’d be a good test since I had pretty general stats and magic.” Grillby began to speak but Sans cut him off, “Yeah, yeah. We’ll get to that. Since…other things were happening at the same time, we figured a good way to trick the barrier would be to mix monster and human magic. One of those magic properties appeared to be something called Determination. An essence that humans have that keep their souls alive even after death. It also had…other unique abilities, but we didn’t know about that until after.

“We were careful; I began having injections into my soul of this Determination stuff. It was fine, hurt like a bitch but nothing I couldn’t handle. It appeared to be changing my stats. Which I was actually pleased about. They went up. Until we hit the later stages.

“The doc was beginning to get, uh, antsy or something. Wanted to speed up the process. We began taking bigger risks. Everyone was on edge since another human had fallen down and had killed numerous monsters. He was panicking. So was I. But the doc was also acting weird. I didn’t know it but he had begun injecting himself with DT too. Larger injections too. It changed him a lot. But I’m not sure if that’s what it was entirely…

“Either way, we got to a point where he wasn’t treating me very nicely. I didn’t know what to do. I had to follow through with this, also I trusted this guy with my life. Too bad I hadn’t realized the guy I trusted wasn’t there anymore.

“That was when the weird things began happening. I got so choked full of DT that my body didn’t know how to handle it. I began…melting. That’s what happens when monsters are combined with DT, right? They can’t handle it. But my boss, well, he didn’t give up too easily. My soul was falling apart, melting. So his brilliant brain decided he’d use his own soul to compensate.”

Sans leaned back and closed his eyes. “He split it. Twice. Used it to stabilize me. Now I had incredible amounts of magic and low stats since the DT almost killed me. The magic wasn’t something I was able to contain on my own though. That’s when the first change happened. Doc was ecstatic. I was so out of it and messed up that I can’t clearly remember the next events. I figure he tested me a bunch. My capabilities and magic levels. Seeing if I was able to even _break_ the barrier. It must’ve happened over weeks or something. My memory’s foggy. I vaguely remembered us finding out I had to change often enough so the magic never overwhelmed me. But I think, over time of changing back and forth without much rest, I was pretty screwed up. It didn’t help that I was dragged along when the CORE started to malfunction. Whatever it was, that’s what caused the doctor’s death.”

He took in a breath. Released it.

“I threw him in the CORE.” Sans’ fingers tightened around his own bones. Grillby could see he was beginning to dig his phalanges into the bone. He grabbed the small hands and held them tightly in his own. Sans ground his teeth and spat out the next words, “I killed him. I just…I got so pissed off. I remember being so furious and screaming at him and maybe I transformed?” Sans rubbed his hand over his face and then slumped. “Well, it doesn’t really matter. He’s dead. I woke up in the CORE. Some other scientists had fixed the CORE while I was working. I went back to Pap and moved to Snowdin. Figured it’d be a nice place to lay low.

“Annnd that brings us to where you found us and helped us out. You know the rest,” he shrugged.

Grillby reeled from all the information. He grasped at the parts he understood and focused hard on what he could apply to the Sans in front of him now. He could tell there were some gaps in the story (he had never mentioned the name of the scientist, and never heard of a monster dying in the CORE…) but he figured this was enough for now. Maybe another time he’d dig further into Sans’ past.

“So you dealt with this for……years?” Grillby asked incredulously. “With no one knowing?”

Over time Grillby realized that Sans was shrinking into the couch, as if to hide from these questions. He looked almost….guilty. And so uncertain.

“Yeah…I wasn’t sure what to do, really. Ended up hiding in the shed outside our house for a while. But I also got incredibly restless, so I began to just go further and further into the forests when I needed to. I’m pretty sure the guards caught my scent a few times, but they never managed to find me.” Sans laughed. “Guess it doesn’t matter what form I’m in, I’ll always be a coward.”

Sparks spurted off of Grillby in protest. His flame grew bright as he said fiercely, “none of this makes you a coward, Sans. In fact, I feel like it makes you far more brave than I had ever imagined.”

Sans didn’t look at Grillby. He grabbed his arms and leaned forward on his legs. Grillby couldn’t stand how helpless and tired he looked.

“Thanks Grillbz, but you don’t really know what happened. How long I’ve avoided talking to people. To Papyrus of all people. Lying to my brother constantly…” Sans then shifted and looked up at Grillby. “Thanks for helping out, G. I gotta admit, I was pretty freaked out this time but I feel a lot better than I normally do after an evening of roving around in fear.”

“It really is no problem. I did only what anyone would do,” Grillby said softly.

Sans scoffed. “Yeah, just anyone would chase down a rampaging and large skeleton creature. Nah, I don’t think so.”

Sans grinned as he watched Grillby blush, or whatever the fire elemental equivalent of blushing was. They both fell into silence. Sans pulled his legs up and leaned back into the couch. He felt…okay. He’d said what was necessary and Grillby wasn’t freaking out. Just processing. There were still niggling fears warning him how Grillby would treat him differently now or he’d spill his secret but he did his best to pay them no mind. They’d appear at night, but for now it felt like a small weight was lifted. He wasn’t alone in this anymore.

Just as Sans was closing his sockets, he heard the bartender breathe out a deep sigh. He opened his eyes to see embers fading out in a collection of smoke.

“Sans…..this is a lot to think about…..but I want to make it clear that you know. I’m here for you. In whatever you need. I want to help you.”

Relief flooded Sans. Pent up emotions from the last few hours (since he woke up yesterday feeling the magic buzzing in his body and dread following it, knowing that he was going to need to shift) suddenly released themselves. He felt a few tears well up and fall but Sans managed to rub his eyes, feigning tiredness before Grillby could see. He wanted to speak and explain how Grillby didn’t have to do this; that it shouldn’t be his problem; that this was something Sans had screwed up not Grillby; to even just _thank_ him for everything. But instead, the skeleton leaned his head against the elemental’s shoulder and breathed.


End file.
